Electric switch



17;' 1949- A. ADAMS 23.15.311 ELEcTRIclITGH i Filed Nov. 20. 1937 la n ll n Y :P0/v6.5 ,eus/ane I I ze lzzb 5a zt zza 4 j ATTORNEY.v

Patented Sept. 17, 1940 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE y The present invention pertains to electric switches,broadly, and more specifically to sock- 'et switches, operable bypressure upon a side of the switch body, as in the case of the BritishPatent No. 2,325 of 1899. Among the ob-jects of this invention are to.provide a switch which is easily assembled and inexpensive tomanufacture; to provide a 'switch in which the switch parts are enclosedin a moisture-proof casing;

l0 to provide a switch having no operating part projecting through thecasing and capable of carrying current to the hand of the user of theswitch;

' toprovide a switch of the type indicatedwhich is hermetically sealedto prevent entrance'of vex.

as the preferred embodiment of this invention, I

desire the same to be understood as illustrative only and not to beinterpreted in a limiting sense. In the drawing annexed hereto andforming a part hereof, Fig. 1 represents allongitudinal sectionalelevation of a construction embodying my present invention, the samebeing represented as taken approximately along the plane indicated bythe line-| l, Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 represents a transverse section substantially along the planeindicated 'by the line 2 2, Fig. l;

.35 Fig. 3 represents a longitudinal sectional elevation of a modiedform of my construction, the same being represented as takensubstantially along the plane indicated by the ."line 3 3, Figs.

4 and 5; Fig. 4 reprents a transverse section taken approximately alongthe plane indicated by theq line 4 4, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 represents a transverse section taken approximately along theplane indicated bythe 'line 5 5, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 represents the application of one form of my invention in aswitch not provided with a lamp socket.

Reference will now be` made in greater detail to the annexed drawing fora more complete description of this invention. The switch casing isformed from a pair of similar, moulded rubber sections I and 2 which areso shaped that when placed face to face and cemented together orcemented and vulcanized together they will con- `ber 6.

stitute a casing for the switch parts, which casing will be huid-proofso as to prevent short circuit- 'member 6 has one end embedded in thecasingl and has its other end turned at a right angle, as l@ shown at 1,to engage projections 8 on the cur- `rent conducting disc 9 which ismounted on and is rotatable about the-axle I0.

The casing is tubular in form and has one end closed, as indicated atII, and has a socket I2. l5 in its opposite end for the reception of thethreaded metallic current conducting sleeve I3 into which the threadedbase of an electric lamp is to be screwed. One end'of the conductingstrip 5 terminates within the sleeve I3 and is bent over 20 in thev'customary manner to engage the center contact of a lamp bulb screwedinto the socket I3. The strip 3 and socket I3 are secured together bysoldering ,or brazing before assembly of the parts of the switch so thatwhen the metal parts are inserted in the cavities of the rubber blocksno further work will need to be done upon these metal parts in order tobe ready to assemble and unite-the parts of the casing. The conductingstrip 4 hasan end bent over, as indicated 30 at I4, and to this, one endof the wire I5 is secured by the screw I6. The end of the Wire I1 issecured to the bent over end of the strip 3 by the screw I8. e

The cavity I9 is separated from the cavity I2 35 by a wall 20, made upof parts integral with the two sectionsI and 2. The wall 20 is undercut,as indicated at 2| in Fig. 1, to give greater ilex-l ibilityof thecasing 'on the side adj acent'the mem- A knob or linger piece 22 isformed on 40 the outside'of the casing to'indicate where presv sure isto be applied for the actuation of theV member 6 by means of which thedisc 9 is rotated.

A plurality of notches 23, preferably eight in number, are formed in theedge of an insulating disc 24 to be engaged by the inner ends oi' thestrips 4 and 5. The conducting vdisc 9 has arms 25, half as numerous asthe notches 23, and these arms occupy alternate notches 23 in the edgeof the disc 24. It is obvious that these parts can be arranged invarious ways to accomplish the same purpose and I therefore do not wishmy claim to be limited to the particular structur herein disclosed. Whenit is desired to operate the 5,',

switch, one presses on the knob 22, forcing the side of the containerinwardly against the member 6 and flexing this to cause the end 1 toengage,

22 is released. Various other similar modes of operating the ratchetdisc in which the notches 23 are cut may be employed without departingfrom the spirit of this invention. For example, the member 6 may be muchshorter and nearly straight, with its outer end extending through thewall and into the knob 22 so that the member 6 will be yieldably mountedand will move .with the movable portion of the wall of the container.

A small flange 26 is formed around the end of the switch containerremote from the socket end and a unitary cap 21, having a flange toengage the ange 26, is provided and s'naps over the end of the containerto enclose the ends of the wires I and I1 and the screws I6 and I8.Because of this arrangement, it is impossible for the hand of the userto come in contact with any metal current-carrying part or to contactany wet part capable of carrying a current whereby the user might get anelectric shock.

Instead of having the grooves for the strips 3, 4 and 5 formed in matinggrooves in the two parts I and 2, it is possible to form thesegroovesdeeper and entirely in one part so that the edges of the metalstrips will come just flush with the fiat face of the rubber part andthen the other rubber part will act as a cover for the openings in thefirst part. 'I'he parts I and 2 may be merely cemented together or theymay be cemented and vulcanized. It is regarded as important that theseparts shall be more or less permanently united in such a manner as to besubstantially proof against fluid entering the chamber I9.

In a large measure, the structure shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 is similarto that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but there are certain minor variations,all being connected with the bridging member between the contact stripsand the means for actuating this bridging member. In the constructionshown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, a lever 28 is pivoted at 29 and'may berocked on its pivot, as is obvious from Fig. 3. InFig. 3, the strips 4and 5 are denoted by the numerals 4a and 5a because of the fact thatthe'y ditler somewhat in shape from the corresponding elementsof thepreviously described construction. 'I'he lever 28 has a post 30projecting transversely from its middle These strips then hold the discagainst portion and this post has a small central projection at its endwhich extends into a spring 3|, the opposite end of which engages theinner face of the wall forming the opposite side of the chamber I9 fromthat which is pressed to cause actu"l ation of the switch. When pressureis exerted on the knob or projection 22a, rocking of the lever 28 aboutits axle 29 is caused, and the switch has more or less of a snap action,due to the connection between the parts 30 and 3I passing a dead center..Pressure upon the knob 22h will cause rocking of the lever 28 in theopposite direction to cause closure of the switch, as illustrated inFig. 3. A bent metal piece 32 prevents the piece 14a from workingoutwardly, even if the cement should fail to hold it rigidly connectedto the rubber.

, The structure shown in Fig. 6 is similar to that shown in Fig. 1 withthe lamp socket omitted and other minor changes made. In this form, thestrips 3 and 5 are joined into one and the actuator member 6 is replacedby an element 6a ernbedded in the knob 22, as suggested above.Otherwise, the structure is unchanged. This strucp ture may be furthermodified by forming a ilange 26 at each end of the body shown inFig. 6and applying a cap 21 to each end. The central contact in the lampsocket, as shown in Fig. 1, would be shortened and bent inagainst'thewall 20, and the vend of strip 3 would likewisebe bentagainst the wall 20. `Screws comparable to I6 4 and I8 would be providedfor the attachment of Wires to the strips 3 and 5.

This arrangement would include the switch in one wire only of a pair ofwires.

It will of course be understood that the speciiic description ofstructure set forth above may be departed from without departing fromthe spirit of this invention as set forth in this specification and theappended claim.. l

Having now described my invention, I claim:

An electric switch comprising a substantially unitary fluid-proof hollowrubber body, a pair of circuit terminals extending through the wall ofsaid body and into the hollow in said body, and a contact member havingtwo normal rest positions, in one of which it makes electrical contactwith said terminals and in the other of which it is out of electricalcontact with said terminals, said contact member'comprising a rotatableelement having a notched edge, one`pair of notches being out ofelectrical contact and another pair of terminal engaging notches beingin electrical contact, a section of the wall of said body beingoperative upon exure into the hollow to. shift said contact member fromeither of said positions to the other. Y

- CHAS. A. ADAMS.

